On Tuesday, the Supreme Court stated that an aspect of federal law, making it simpler to deport immigrants convicted of violent crimes, cannot be enforced because it is too vague. The ruling was made 5-4, with new Justice, Neil Gorsuch, agreeing with the four liberal justices, over the catchall provision within US immigration law, which defines the nature of a violent crime.
Justice, Elena Kagan, wrote that a conviction for a violent crime makes an immigrant almost certain to be deported from the US, regardless of how long they have lived in the country. The decision is a blow to the Trump administration, which has been pushing for tougher enforcement of existing immigration laws.
The President responded to the decision on Twitter by noting that it is up to Congress to close loopholes that prevent dangerous criminal immigrants from being deported. Gorsuch, who was appointed by Trump, was the decisive vote in striking down the contentious provision, agreeing that the law should not remain, and noting that the Constitution does not look kindly on laws which are so vague that judges are confused about where it applies and which reasonable people would not be able to understand.
The case turned on a 2015 decision in which another part of federal law with similar wording that saw repeat criminals given longer sentences and was also struck down. The Department of Homeland Security says the new ruling significantly undermines their attempts to remove violent criminal immigrants from the US.